PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. describes itself as "one of the nation's largest financial services companies with assets of $92.0 billion. PNC has a diversified business mix, which includes a regional banking franchise operating primarily in eight states and the District of Columbia, specialized financial businesses serving companies and government entities, and leading asset management and processing businesses."

In July 2004 PNC concluded a deal to buy out the troubled Riggs Bank N.A. According to the Washington Post, "All Riggs branches will assume the PNC bank name... Meanwhile, PNC will dispense entirely with all of Riggs's international and embassy banking operations, which led to the problems Riggs faces today."

Financing for Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining
A Rainforest Action Network (RAN) 2010 report Grading the Banks: Mountaintop Removal Report Card on financing for mountaintop removal coal mining ranked PNC the worst of the analyzed financial institutions, including Morgan Stanley and GE Capital, as PNC finances almost half of all mountaintop removal operations in the country. RAN and Sierra Club disclosed the findings of this report card to each of the analyzed banks, including PNC, and offered them the opportunity to improve their grade with further information or changes to banking policies. The ‘best practice’ recommended in the report card is an exclusion policy on commercial lending and investment banking services for all coal companies who practice mountaintop removal coal extraction.

PNC to limit MTR funding
After the 2010 RAN campaign, the PNC published a 2010 Corporate Responsibility Report saying PNC would be moving away from funding MTR. The report read: "MTR is the subject of increasing regulatory and legislative scrutiny, with a focus on the permitting of MTR mines. While this extraction method is permitted, PNC will not provide funding to individual MTR projects, nor will PNC provide credit to coal producers whose primary extraction method is MTR. PNC will continue to monitor this industry while various regulatory issues are addressed through legislation and public policy" (p. 4).

Then in November 2010 PNC announced that it would no longer fund projects associated with mountaintop removal coal mining. “This move makes PNC bank number seven to issue a position on MTR,” the Rainforest Action Network’s Amanda Starbuck wrote of the decision, “following in the footsteps of Bank of America, Citi, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Credit Suisse.” PNC’s decision left UBS and GE Capital as the only major banks that support mountaintop removal.

Shareholders call for end to MTR funding
At an April 2011 PNC annual meeting, several PNC Financial Services Group shareholders challenged CEO James Rohr about the bank's lending to companies that mine coal through mountaintop removal. Rohr said PNC lends only to mining companies "with a modest amount of mountaintop mining" and the bank would "continue to review our policies." According to spokesman Fred Solomon, the bank does not disclose the identity of borrowers or its exposure to specific business segments.

Executive Team
Accessed March 2009:


 * James E. Rohr - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
 * Joseph C. Guyaux - President
 * William S. Demchak - Senior Vice Chairman
 * Richard J. Johnson - Chief Financial Officer
 * Anuj Dhanda - Chief Information Officer
 * Michael J. Hannon - Chief Risk Officer
 * Helen P. Pudlin - General Counsel
 * Joan L. Gulley - Chief Human Resources Officer
 * Timothy G. Shack - Chairman, PNC Global Investment Servicing and Vice Chairman of The PNC Financial Services Group
 * Thomas K. Whitford - Vice Chairman and Chief Administrative Officer

Directors
Accessed March 2009:


 * Richard O. Berndt - Managing Partner, Gallagher Evelius & Jones LLP (law firm)
 * Charles E. Bunch - Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, PPG Industries, Inc. (coatings, sealants and glass products)
 * Paul W. Chellgren - Operating Partner, SPG Partners, LLC (private equity)
 * Robert N. Clay - President and Chief Executive Officer, Clay Holding Company (investments)
 * George A. Davidson, Jr. - Retired Chairman, Dominion Resources, Inc. (public utility holding company)
 * Kay Coles James - President & Founder, The Gloucester Institute (non-profit)
 * Richard B. Kelson - Operating Advisor, Pegasus Capital Advisors, L.P. (private equity)
 * Bruce C. Lindsay - Chairman and Managing Member, 2117 Associates, LLC (advisory company)
 * Anthony A. Massaro - Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (full-line manufacturer of welding and cutting products)
 * Jane G. Pepper - President, Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (non-profit membership organization)
 * James E. Rohr - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc.
 * Donald J. Shepard - Chairman of the Executive Board and Chief Executive Officer, AEGON N.V. (insurance)
 * Lorene K. Steffes - Independent Business Advisor and Consultant
 * Dennis F. Strigl - President and Chief Operating Officer, Verizon Communications Inc. (telecommunications)
 * Stephen G. Thieke - Retired Chairman, Risk Management Committee of JP Morgan Incorporated (financial and investment banking services)
 * Thomas J. Usher - Chairman, Marathon Oil Corporation (oil and gas industry)
 * George H. Walls, Jr. - Former Chief Deputy Auditor of the State of North Carolina
 * Helge H. Wehmeier - Retired President and Chief Executive Officer, Bayer Corporation (healthcare, crop protection and chemicals)

Related Sourcewatch articles

 * VF Corporation
 * Mountaintop removal
 * Committee for Economic Development
 * Edward J. Kelly III